I think I’m a Pastafarian!
April 1st, 2008 . by EmilyI have for a while known of a little anti-religion known as Pastafarianism or the Church of
the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Lately though it seems that I have become much more involved with FSM-ism that I ever anticipated. See, I told Ben I was “touched” more than he was! (Visit the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to get my pun.)
I first explained to Liesle the meaning of the noodly emblem on the back of my car. Think “Jesus Fish,” but with more spaghetti and 2 meatballs. (Bought mostly as a joke for Ben on Valentine’s Day.)
After seeing the usual “I don’t understand your religon, but I’m going to be condescending and insulting towards it anyway” comment, I found myself again defending and explaining Pastafarianism. Ben joked that I have become a prophet. I could only hope the Noodly One feels the same!
In all honesty, this topic is very appropriate for the date, April Fool’s Day. Even though I do not treat Pastafarianism as my actual religion that I worship; I think the joke embodies a rational, moral way of treating people around you. To me the Noodly One stands for open-mindedness and acceptance. With a sense of humor.
FSM was founded in 2005 when Bobby Henderson wrote an open letter to the Kansas State Board of Education protesting their decision to include creationism as part of their curriculum. His letter was ignored by the Board until he posted the letter online and quickly gained notoriety. Basically his point was that “because intelligent design implies the existence of an intelligent, but not necessarily omnipotent or omniscient designer, this designer could, in fact, be anything imaginable,” including a flying monster made of spaghetti and meatballs. (Quoted from Wikipedia’s FSM entry.)
Now FSM has become an modern-day Russell’s teapot (an analogy first coined by the philosopher Bertrand Russell intended to refute the idea that the burden of proof lies upon the skeptic to disprove unfalsifiable claims of religions) or Invisible Pink Unicorn (the goddess of a satiric parody religion aimed at theistic beliefs, which takes the form of a unicorn that is paradoxically both invisible and pink. These attributes satirize the contradictions in properties that some attribute to a theistic deity; this makes her a common rhetorical illustration used by atheists and other religious skeptics).
As many of you know, I’m not a particularly religious person. I was raised mostly Methodist and went to church and Sunday school until I was probably about 10. So I have a religious foundation. As I got older and into today, I question religion and have combined into it my own experiences and science. I don’t see myself adopting Pastafarianism as a “real religion.” But explaining it and spreading my interpretation of its message makes me feel good. On second thought, wouldn’t a prophet of Christianity say the same? 
RAmen.
P.S. If you wish to learn even more about the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, like the Eight “I’d Really Rather You Didn’ts;” Captain Mosey, a pirate and the FSM equivalent of Moses; and much, much more detailed explanations of Pastafarians beliefs, I strongly recommend The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, written by noodly one Bobby Henderson himself. I am currently reading it and becoming enlightened! Won’t you join me?
